Brown Adipose Tissue as a Mechanistic Determinant of Semaglutide Treatment Response in Obesity (BAT-Sema Study)

What Was Tested

The trial (not phased) is built around Semaglutide.

This study investigates whether the activity of brown adipose tissue (BAT) - a special type of fat that burns energy as heat - can predict how well individuals with obesity respond to semaglutide (Wegovy), a once-weekly injectable weight loss medication.

Participants who are starting semaglutide treatment will undergo ¹⁸FDG-PET/CT imaging before and after 24 weeks of treatment.

Prior to each PET/CT scan, participants will wear a water-circulating cooling vest to activate BAT.

It had 1 arm (groups): Semaglutide + BAT Evaluation (experimental).

The registry classes the interventions as drug and procedure.

More on the Plan

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a metabolically active thermogenic organ that has been implicated in energy expenditure, insulin sensitivity, and cardiometabolic health.

The researchers hypothesize that baseline BAT activity, as measured by ¹⁸FDG-PET/CT following individualized cold stimulation, is a mechanistic determinant of semaglutide treatment response in adults with obesity without diabetes.

BAT activity (SUVmax, SUVmean, BAT volume, total metabolic activity) will be quantified per BARCIST 1.0 criteria.

Liver fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) and liver stiffness (MR elastography) will be assessed as secondary endpoints.

Who Took Part

The registry lists 80 planned participants were the target.

It was open to people of any sex aged from 20 years up to 70 years.

Healthy volunteers were not accepted; participants needed the condition being studied.

Examples of who could join: Age 20-70 years at the time of enrollment. Initiating semaglutide (Wegovy) treatment for obesity (newly starting treatment). BMI ≥ 27 kg/m² with at least one weight-related comorbidity:. Hypertension (SBP ≥130 or DBP ≥80 mmHg, or on antihypertensive medication). Dyslipidemia (LDL-C ≥130, TG ≥150, or low HDL-C, or on lipid-lowering medication).

The full record lists 10 inclusion and 9 exclusion criteria; among the exclusions: diagnosis of type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus; history of neck surgery or radiation therapy to the neck; use of anti-obesity medications within 1 month prior to enrollment, or current use of beta-adrenergic blocking agents.

How the Study Was Run

Design: single-group and open-label.

Being open-label, the Semaglutide study did not mask who received what.

Everyone received the same intervention, so there was no separate comparison group inside the trial.

It started in 2026-06 with completion listed for 2028-02.

It ran at 2 sites in South Korea (2).

Its stated primary purpose is basic science.

What Was Measured

Researchers chose this as the main measure: Correlation between baseline BAT metabolic activity (SUVmean and BAT volume on ¹⁸FDG-PET/CT) and percentage body weight loss at 24 weeks of semaglutide treatment (time frame: Baseline to 24 weeks).

It also tracked 17 secondary outcomes, for example Change in waist circumference, Change in body weight (kg), Change in Body Mass Index (BMI), Change in HbA1c (%), Change in fasting glucose (mg/dL) and Change in HOMA-IR.

What This Means in Plain Language

Put simply, this is a not phased trial of Semaglutide in 80 people.

Its status is not yet recruiting; no results are posted to the registry yet, so nothing here describes outcomes.

More context: the Semaglutide compound page, all human trials.